Fueling mommy AND baby

As many of you know from our messy mealtime photos, our family has chosen to adopt baby led weaning methods with Ava. She has quite the appetite and I'm so impressed at how well she eats! What some of you may not know; after 6 months, babies begin to require iron from sources other than breast milk. Iron is also important for us busy moms! Lentils are a great plant-based source of iron but are tricky for little fingers to handle. I've had several moms from my fitness challenge groups ask me about how I incorporate lentils into Ava's diet.

So I'm happy to share this great all season recipe that your whole family can enjoy hot on a cold day or warm paired with a fresh salad in your patio!  I'm enjoying it from my patio as Ava naps! (Love working from home!)

Cheese and Lentil Wedges

Great for at home or on the go as their are firm and not too messy!

Serves two adults and one baby, generously. 

1 cup of red lentils
2 cups water
Oil or butter for frying (preferably unsalted for baby
1 Large onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely minced
3/4 grated cheese
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs (to your liking)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (I used a half sourdough english muffin leftover from Sunday Brunch)
Freshly ground pepper
I also added some spinach, so you could add kale, asparagus or other greens

Put the lentils into a pan with the water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the lentils are soft and all the liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile, heat the oil or butter in a frying pan, add the onion, and fry until soft.

Preheat the oven to 375F and lightly grease a 9-inch cake pan (I used a pie plate). Drain the lentils and the onion and garlic and put them into a mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients and mix well.  Press into the prepared pan using the back of a spoon.

Bake for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then cut into wedges. Serve warm or cold!

I hope you and your baby enjoy this as much as Ava and I did!

Source: Modified from The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett

Week 1, Day 1, Round 2 - HERE GOES!!

After a horrible weekend recovering from food poisoning, I'm thrilled to be back, healthy and leading my first group fitness challenge with a fabulous group of committed challengers! On the heels of a 60-day challenge where I lost 15lbs of baby weight, I'm excited to see what the next 10 weeks will bring! Even cooler, are the relationships (new and old) that will strengthen over this time as we motivate and support one another to achieve our goals!

Most of the challengers and myself are tackling the Focus T25 program by Shaun T (Beachbody). It's only 25 minutes a day x 5 days per week. There are two phases: 5 weeks of Alpha and 5 weeks of Beta.  I just finished the entire 10-week program, predominantly following Tania, the modifier. I'm now 7 months post-partum and ready to tackle Round 2 without Tania.

I pressed play on the Alpha Core Cardio this morning thinking, "This should be a breeze since I just completed BETA!" Well what a BIG wake-up call!! Going sans-modifier kicked my BUTT!! I miss Tania! I pushed myself as hard as I could and felt really really great when Shaun T called "TIME"!  I really do find myself having much more energy throughout my day from these workouts. I've determined that its really just mind over matter. I hope to keep just 'pressing play' until it doesn't even phase me anymore and becomes a habit I look forward to!

I invite you to follow along as I share my experiences, lessons learned, and motivation during this 10-week challenge. My hope, through this fitness journey, is to maintain focus on my personal goals and inspire YOU to take the necessary steps to achieve your goals. Let's get healthy together!